Political Philosophy

Diving into the concept of faith in the 'free market' and how it contrasts with traditional religions. Highlighting the enchanting allure and limitations of neoliberal capitalism. Exploring the shift towards treating economic forces as divine and the implications of blind faith in the market. Reflecting on the origins and consequences of neoliberal ideology.

Weaving insights from Eugene McCarraher (The Enchantments of Mammon), my interview with Chris Cutrone, and another authors I’ve covered over the last couple of years, along with my understanding of the history of political thought and rudimentary economics, I try to take the long view of the current impasse between “conservatives” and “liberals” in the US which has led to yet another very close and deeply divided presidential election, made worse by escalating resentments, tensions and paranoia. Why are we here? What’s wrong? The answer is way deeper than even “the democrats don’t get it” (although they don’t). For more from me: https://lauriemjohnson.com/ https://politicalphilosophy.video.blog/ iTunes podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/political-philosophy-dr-laurie-m-johnson/id1473457784 Here’s the URL to the Political Philosophy Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/608141959786172/about/

I discuss the theme of Disneyfication in Eugene McCarraher’s Enchantments of Mammon Part 5 on magical Fordism. I dwell on the function of entertainment to divert, vent and justify what McCarraher terms “Fordist drudgery” in order to keep Mammonism alive. The consequences are that much more time and mental space are devoted to a fantasy world than to either material reality or its transcendent Maker. For more from me: https://lauriemjohnson.com/ https://politicalphilosophy.video.blog/ iTunes podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/political-philosophy-dr-laurie-m-johnson/id1473457784 Here’s the URL to the Political Philosophy Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/608141959786172/about/

In a discussion that launches from Part 4 of McCarraher’s The Enchantments of Mammon, especially the part on the Arts and Crafts movement and its preoccupation with beauty, we get into the question of how to view human labor and the material world. McCarraher’s sacramental view of nature informs a discussion of whether and how it is realistic and beneficial to see matter as sacred. What would it mean for Christianity and other religions if we did? What would it mean for work and for the economy? For more from me: https://lauriemjohnson.com/ https://politicalphilosophy.video.blog/ iTunes podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/political-philosophy-dr-laurie-m-johnson/id1473457784 Here’s the URL to the Political Philosophy Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/608141959786172/about/

I discuss content from Chapters 12 and 13 of Eugene McCarraher’s The Enchantments of Mammon, especially his treatment of the American populist and socialist movements. McCarraher shows that underneath their anti-capitalist rhetoric lies a deep agreement with US corporate capitalism. The corporate system was seen by both as a model of cooperation, organization and efficiency which they simply wanted to harness more productively for people as a whole. The populists did not dispute capitalism so much as they attempted to reform it. The socialists (somewhat apropos to my conversation with Chris Cutrone recently) thought the corporate system and scientific management would work better with the profit motive out of the way. Both, then, in their own way, according to McCarraher, were still enchanted with Mammon. Here’s a link to McCarraher’s book: https://www.amazon.com/Enchantments-Mammon-Capitalism-Religion-Modernity/dp/0674984617/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=enchantments+of+mammon&qid=1601065133&sr=8-1 For more from me: http://www.lauriemjohnson.com

Sorry about multiple uploads–internet troubles! In this second half of my interview with Chris Cutrone, we discuss his view that Enlightenment liberalism holds the potential to liberate mankind but only if capitalism gets out of its way. We discuss ways in which this might happen (futures), and the potential risks and benefits involved. Along the way we discuss Democrats, Republicans, environmental challenges, and the reason to persevere in extremely challenging times. Cutrone is Associate Professor of Art History, Theory and Criticism, and Visual and Critical Studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and he also teaches at the Institute for Clinical Social Work in Chicago. He is the original lead organizer of the Platypus Affiliated Society, and the editor of the volume Marxism in the Age of Trump, co-author of Adorno’s Leninism, and the forthcoming Marxism and Politics: Essays on Critical Theory and the Party (out later this year), along with numerous articles on critical theory and current events. Here’s the Platypus Affiliated Society website: https://platypus1917.org Here’s the first in the series on the American Revolution: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWwQg0MObQs&t=4654s Here’s the Shit Platypus Says podcast link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sps/id1305502112 For more from me: http://www.lauriemjohnson.com

Sorry this is late–several uploads failed. This is the first part of my recent interview of Chris Cutrone. In this part, he explains his slogan “the left is dead; long live the left,” and we get into his take on the meaning of the American Revolution. We discuss the place of the U.S. in revolutionary history, the impact we are having currently, and how that could be different. .

Drawing from Part 3 of Eugene McCarraher’s The Enchantments of Mammon, I take a good look at the way evangelical Christians in the late 19th century put God and Mammon on the same level. The corporation was raised to the dignity of a human person in U.S. law, begging the question of whether anyone who believes that can really adequately respect human life as “made in the image and likeness of God.” Here’s the link to McCarraher’s book: https://www.amazon.com/Enchantments-Mammon-Capitalism-Religion-Modernity/dp/0674984617/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=enchantments+of+mammon&qid=1601065133&sr=8-1 Here’s Michael Sandel’s new book: https://www.amazon.com/Tyranny-Merit-Whats-Become-Common/dp/B084SLR1Q5/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Michael+Sandel&qid=1601065173&sr=8-1 Here’s the Steve Paiken interview of Michael Sandel on his new book: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFaLj3YWkGo For more from me: http://www.lauriemjohnson.com

In this video I address, through some Ideas from Ch. 6 of my book Ideological Possession and the Rise of the New Right, some deeper systemic reasons for the rise of the illiberal right and other phenomena that are disturbing societies around the globe. The problem is bigger than just blaming one source of trouble, whether it be the Internet, new organizations, racial groups or university progressives. Here’s a link to Ch. 6, which discusses these ideas in more depth: Signs of Mass Psychosis (Ideological Possession and the Rise of the New Right) You can find the book here and elsewhere: https://www.routledge.com/Ideological-Possession-and-the-Rise-of-the-New-Right-The-Political-Thought/Johnson/p/book/9781138082120?gclid=CjwKCAjwkoz7BRBPEiwAeKw3qwfbbiO5hC3qDLD4w02K_ImiPsecAc5rX-xseIJ_bP2fEQeYN3pnBRoC_osQAvD_BwE For more from me: http://www.lauriemjohnson.com

In these three chapters of McCarraher’s book, The Enchantments of Mammon, we get a front row seat to the peculiar developments of American Christianity from colonization through the 19th Century, and the reactions to it from Transcendentalists, Romantics and most importantly America’s enslaved African Americans. This video hits some of the highlights and hopefully gets us to ponder whether America’s historical take on Christianity is really very accurate, and just how much of a problem is its constant admixture of theological and commercial values. Spoiler: it’s a problem. McCarraher’s book: https://www.amazon.com/Enchantments-Mammon-Capitalism-Religion-Modernity/dp/0674984617 For more from me: https://lauriemjohnson.com/ https://politicalphilosophy.video.blog/ Here’s the URL to the Political Philosophy Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/608141959786172/about/